This invention describes a pipeline sorter, in which record-pairs are compared and conditionally swapped while being advanced along the pipeline synchronously. The pipeline sorter has the topology of a U-shaped tube, with regularly spaced crosspaths linking the two arms. Records are loaded one at a time,...http://www.google.com.au/patents/US4090249?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US4090249 - Apparatus for sorting records in overlap relation with record loading and extraction
